#i am like suiren all grinning and smirking

[lastofthe20thcenturygirls]

maomao's love language is really just making sure jinshi takes a nap (by force if necessary)

[apompkwrites]

a week or so || scaramouche

masterlist characters: scaramouche genre: fluff summary: for the past week, scaramouche has been acting... different. his little changes don't go unnoticed by his fellow harbingers. notes: i was kinda lost on how to write for dottore and la signora? i hope this is okay!

ever since the harbingers knew him, scaramouche had been... what's the best way to put it? authoritative? cunning? whatever negative word they could think of, it usually applied to scaramouche.

of course, until they started to notice the small changes in his behavior.

"he seems... happier?"

what an odd word to describe their fellow harbinger. happy... their snarky, hot-headed harbinger was oddly upbeat and (somewhat) overjoyed.

his face shows less disdain than it normally does. even to tartaglia, the very harbinger he despised more than the others, his glare seemed to soften ever-so-slightly.

word would travel fast of the infamous harbinger's change in behavior.

if the other subordinates weren't scared of him...

thus, the gossip regarding the sixth harbinger is reduced only to their other harbingers.

"haven't you noticed anything going on with him?" tartaglia hummed, crossing his arms. a few of the other harbingers looked at him, shooting him questionable stares from across the table.

"why should we be concerned with that?" la signora raised an eyebrow at tartaglia, eyeing the man up and down.

"it's just kind of weird..."

the earliest instance tartarglia could remember was about a week or so ago. the hydro user had made it his goal that day, just like any other day, to become a nuisance to scaramouche.

all he wanted to do was rile him up as per usual. but somehow, all of his attempts seemed to fail.

poking fun at his height? scaramouche just bit his tongue and left.

messing with him while he's training? he just goes right back to what he had been, this time a few feet away from tartaglia.

mimicking him after he sends off his subordinates? he shoots him a dirty look but that's about it.

no matter how long he had done it, scaramouche showed restraint in his outbursts.

dottore, ever a curious man, thought back on all of the times he had seen the shorter harbinger pass by his workspace.

during those rare moments he had taken a break in experiments, he always had a good look at the people passing by. a few subordinates here, a few test subjects there, the usual. it wasn't too often for him to see scaramouche pass by, let alone with something tucked away in his arms.

the sixth harbinger attempted to sneak past dottore's open doorway, rushing past the lab towards another room down the hallway. after another unsuccessful experiment, dottore had threatened his assistant, as per protocol, and took a deep breath as he walked towards the door.

he had let his head peek out to stare down the hallway towards the harbinger, watching as he stood beside the locked office, holding a large bouquet in his arms.

pink lotuses were tucked away in the white container, nearly blending in with scaramouche's uniform. he seemed to take a relieved sigh before leaning against the locked door, hugging the suiren close to his chest.

what an odd expression for someone so full of disdain...

la signora was not one to idle in the rabble of the "commonfolk" (as childe was so lovingly dubbed) but even she couldn't help herself when she took note of scaramouche's odd behavior.

over the past few days, his sudden disappearances always... piqued her interest.

he seemed to disappear hours on end, only to reappear without any trace of leaving the building. no disturbed doors, no reports from the guards, nothing.

and halfway into the week, she had found her answer as to where he had gone off to.

she had spotted the familiar black veil that trailed behind him vanish behind the corner. letting her curiosity get the better of her, she allowed her body to follow after him, glancing around the corner to where scaramouche had stopped.

a small key was held in his hand, unlocking the office door as he twisted it into the lock. quickly, he hid himself away inside the room, the soft sound of the lock clicking filling the hallway.

and there he stayed for hours on end, prompting signora to leave a few minutes in.

"i'm baaack!" a cheerful voice chimed as the harbinger burst through the doors. a basket was hoisted over their shoulders, hidden just out of the view.

"welcome back!" tartaglia greeted, waving happily to the (h/color)-haired figure.

"huh, how am i here before scara?" they questioned, tilting their head slightly. "man... i even brought him the gifts i promised."

"gifts?" signora echoed, lightly tapping her fingers against the table.

"oh! i'm guessing he didn't tell anyone," they chuckled, sliding into their designated seat. they slid off the basket from their shoulders, gathering the contents in their arms and placing them on the table. "see?"

the complementary colors of pink and purple stood out against the dark desk. the flowers the harbinger had brought along were all neatly tucked away into a single bouquet, held together by a white container.

"that's an interesting selection," dottore hummed, nodding his head to the bouquet.

"i needed some help picking them out," (name) laughed, rubbing the back of their neck. "inazuma still has its signature flower specialists."

"how long until you're next station?"

"um... i think--"

"(name)!" scaramouche called out upon entering the room, causing the harbinger to shut their mouth and form a bright smile.

"scara!"

"you two seem close," tartaglia grinned, shooting a teasing smirk toward scaramouche's direction.

"huh? well of course we're close!" (name) interjected, jumping out of their chair. they skipped over to scaramouche's side, looping their arm around his. "we are dating after all!"

"you're dating?!"

"ah, that explains a lot," signora and dottore hummed in unison.

"for how long?!" tartaglia shouted, looking over at the duo for an answer.

"um... a few years now."

"and why did we never know?!"

"you never asked," scaramouche commented. "i still wouldn't have told you, though."

"hey!"

"scara! be nice! remember the rule was for a week until i get back, meaning you still have to be nice for a few more hours!"